Consulting and Quality Assurance
Our quality assurance programs help to identify poorly performing sites so that corrective action can be taken early in the course of the trial. These programs are led by Drs. Dawn Velligan and David Roberts who have been providing consultation in study design and instrument selection for a combined 30 years. They have also collaborated with companies regarding regulatory issues, marketing, and value-added programs.
Rater Training
We have nearly 3 decades of experience in training raters to maintain high reliability on assessments of symptomatology and global functional outcome. Rater training can be accomplished at in-person meetings or via the web and involves both didactic and experiential training. We use a variety of high-quality training tapes with gold standard ratings and have provided rater training for countless clinical pharmaceutical trials in multiple countries. Some of the scales we can provide training for appear below. Certification requires a video tape to be submitted along with scoring forms for review and critique. To request either live web-based or in-person rater training, Contact Us and please indicate the scales for which you would like to receive training.
- Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS)
- Negative Symptom Assessment (NSA)
- Brief Negative Symptom Scale (BNSS)
- Clinical Assessment Interview for Negative Symptoms (CAINS)
- Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF)
- Social and Occupational Functioning Scale (SOFAS)
- Clinical Global Impression of Severity and Improvement (multiple forms) CGI-S; CGI-I
- Personal and Social Performance Scale (PSP)
Neuropsychological Assessment
Neuropsychological tests evaluate various components of cognitive functioning including: attention and concentration, verbal and visual memory, auditory and visual processing, visual-spatial functioning, language and reading skills, gross and fine motor development, social skill development, executive functioning, and emotional and personality development. We offer training in the administration of the following neuropsychological tests:
- Measurement and Treatment Research to Improve Cognition in Schizophrenia (MATRICS), a fairly comprehensive battery used primarily in research
- Brief Cognitive Assessment (BCA), a battery which correlates strongly with other much lengthier ones though it is very streamlined
Training includes both didactic and practice testing. For certification, individuals must either perform a complete testing in front of an examiner following practice or submit a tape recorded testing with assessment forms. To request in-person or live web MATRICS or BCA training, Contact Us.
Functional Capacity Testing
Functional capacity testing assesses an individual’s ability to perform specific independent living tasks in front of an examiner. Tasks assessed may include the ability to make appointments, to fill medication containers according to instructions or to perform work tasks. We have developed multiple tests of functional capacity and productive activity and have worked in several countries to train the administration of these batteries. We offer training in the assessments listed below as well as others. Certification requires a video tape to be submitted along with scoring forms for review and critique. To request either live web-based or in-person training, Contact Us and please indicate the scales for which you would like to receive training.
- Test of Adaptive Behavior in Schizophrenia-Brief (TABS Brief)
- Bicultural Frontal Assessment Battery (FAB)